Page 291 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book
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A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols 284
Peony
mu-dan
The peony is the ‘Queen of Flowers’, the emblem of wealth and distinction. Its present
name in Chinese, mu-dan, hardly appears before the 5th century AD; previously the
flower was called shuo-yao. In the ‘Book of Odes’ amorous youths and maidens give
each other shuo-yao. The mu-dan is presumably the 8th-century refinement of the old
native peony. It occurs in various colours, but the red peony was, and still is, the most
admired and valued. White peonies, which are a later development, symbolise young
girls who are distinguished by their wit as much as by their beauty. Legend has a woman
called ‘White Peony’ (Bai mu-dan) who challenged the Immortal Lü Dong-bin to a
contest in amorous sports: the duel went on all night long, but she won in the end – by
tickling him! The historian Ou-yang Xiu (1007–72) wrote a book on the white peony, and
poets of the Tang Dynasty (618–907) sang its praises in their own inimitable manner.
Embroidered handbag: in the centre a peony surrounded by bats
